Illuminated sign



Nov. 17. 1925 Y I R- R. WILEY ILLUMINATED SIGN 3 Sheets-Sheet 1v En Jan- 27. 1922 ROY. R WILEX.

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,ATTURHgY R. R. WILEY ILLUINATED SIGN iled Jan. 27. 19.22 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Invc'roR Mun-m.

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i @@@IQ EV Patented Nov. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROY R. WILEY, OF BUFFALO, NEVI YORK, ASSIGNOR TO FLEXLUME CORPORATION, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK. A CREORATON 0F lNEW YORK.

ILLUMINATED SIGN.

Application filed January 27, 1922. Serial No. 532,238.

To all io from t may concern Be it known that I, ROY lt. lViLnY, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the countyot Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and use ful improvements in Illuminated Signs, of which the following is a specification.

rihis invention relates to improvements in illuminated signs, proposing a sign which is especially adapted tor indoor use as in banks, hotels, oliice buildings and show windows. For such use there is required a small compact sign structure having small letters or characters, that is to say letters or characters ordinarily oi not greater than two or three inches in height and also having provision 'for the effective display and illumination ot such letters or characters whereby they may be easily read at a considerable distance from the sign.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a sign which, n'ieeting the requirements stated, will enhance in material degree the eilective display and illumination ot the letters or characters, more particularly by an arrangement thereof favorable to legibility when the sign is viewed Yfrom a distance or at an angle, and by combining in the illumination oit the letters or characters the qualities ot brilliance, warmth and uniformity.

A 'further object is to provide a sign tor the use stated which shall be attractive in appearance, economically maintained, simple in structure and wherein the enclosed parts are readily accessible ji'or` renewal or other purposes.

lVith the above objects in view the invention consists generally in certain novel features of structure and combination as hereinafter claimed and which will be set 'forth in detail as the description proceeds.

lhnbodiments of the invention in connection with both single tace and double tace signs are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a front view ot' a single tace sign.

Figure 2 is a c'oss sectional view oi a single face sign.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line '3 3 of VFigure 9..

Figure l is a horizontal view on the line Figure 5 is a cross sectional view of a double tace sign.

Referring to Figures l to L inclusive which show a sign of the single face type:

The sign structure includes a box l which encloses the principal operating parts and may be ot any required dimensions and Outline, a rectangular box being shown. The iront wall 2 of the boX includes a panel 3 ot clear tansparent glass through which the sign letters or characters are exposed to view and a frame et for the support of said panel, the latter being secured in any suitable manner, for example by clips 5 which hold the panel against the inner tace of the frame. ln order to give ready access to the interior ot' the box the front wall 2 may be movably mounted in any suitable manner, for example by hinges 6 connecting the top wall of the box and the upper bar ot the trame 4.

The sign includes letters or characters which are incorporated in a sign boa-rd and are preferably displayed against a suitably contrasting background. Inwcertain aspects ot' the invention the letters or characters may be produced in any desired way. As pre- 'ierred and according to certain features oi,

the invention the sign board is arranged within the box L at an acute angle to the vertical airis of the panel 3 whereby said board in a direction between its upper and lower edges converges toward said panel. The sign is otherwise constructed whereby the sign board constitutes the rear wall of an illuminatingr chamber 7 whereoi' the front wall is constituted by the panel 3. Owing to the inclined arrangement of the sign board the chamber 7 progressively diminishes in depth in a direction normal to the plane of the sign board and consequently said chamber will be oli' substantially greater area at one vertical extreme than at the other.

The sign includes a chamber 8 arranged behind the chamber 7. According to the mvention rays ot light from the chamber 8 are directly emitted into the chamber 7.

entering through the vertical extreme thereof of larger area. The electric lamps which are the sources of light are preferably arranged in the chamber S, these lamps, as i), being provided in any desired number and of any desired power. The lamps 9 in any case are hidden from view from a position Vsign is to Le viewed from above or below.

rlhe drawings assume a sign tor overhead arrangement and tor view from below in which case7 as shown, the sign board converges upwardly toward the panel 3, the chamber 7 is of greatest area at its lower vertical extreme and the lamps 9 are arranged adjacent the bottom ol the box l. It the Vsign is to be positioned for view from above the arrangement just described is reversed, that is to say, the sign board will converge downwardly toward the panel 3, the charnber 'i' will be of greatest area at its upper vertical extreme, and the lamps 9 will be arranged adjacent the top ot the bof; l, and for the purpose or" illustrating such a sign a mere inversion ot' Figure 2 will be sulhcient.

lVhile, as above stated, in certain aspects of the invention7 that is to say in certain novel combinations ot elements into which the invention may be resolvech the sign letters or characters may be produced in any desired way, in certain other aspects ol" the invention, involving other novel combinations ot elements, it is requisite that the sign letters or characters be produced in connection with a translucent display, the sign board in such a case,'and, according` to the invention, being,` arranged to receive light rays on both faces, that is to say from within both chambers 8 and 7. As preferred the letters or characters are translucent and stand out against-'an opaque background although the arrangement can, or coursc,be reversed, that is to say the letters or characters can be opaque and stand out against a translucent background; or it desired the letters and background can both be translucent. lhus the visible faces of the sign board7 that is to say ot the sign letters or characters in the embodiment shown and preferred, are illuminated by the light rays impinging thereon trom within the chamber 7 while at- 'the same time the sign letters or characters transmit and difuso the light from the chamber 8. ln other words the translucent letters or characters are illuminated externally and also from within the chamber 8 with the result that their illumination most effectively combines the qualities ot warmth and eX- treme brilliance. In practice it has been found that'the best results are obtained by using raised or relief letters or characters which are pressed from sheets ot milk white translucent glass, letters of such description being set forth in Letters Patent No. 1,224,253 ot' lvlay l, 1.17. herein shown at l0 and, as regards the present invention, may all (as comprising the full text ot the sign) be pressed from a single plate otglass ll; such practice is, however, suggested merely as one which will be convenient in many cases.

The sign board in the present instanc the plate ll provided with the letters l0, is carried by a bracket l2 in which the upper and lower walls ot the chamber 7 are incorporated. rlhe sign board is arranged at the rear of said chamber and constitutes in elcct the rear wall thereof.. physical portions ot said rear wall beingnincorporated in the bracket l2. The chamber 7 is completed by end walls 13 which are arranged at the ends ot' the bracket l2 and extend between said bracket and the trame 4l. The sign board may be securedto the bracket in any suitable manner. In the present embodiment this is eiifected by securing strips leL suitably united to the bracket l2 and overlying` the upper and lower edge portions ot' the plate ll to hold said plate against the rear wall part ot the bracket. lVhere, as in the construction shown and preferred, the sign letters are translucent and illuminated both from the liront land rear, the rear wall portion oitl the bracket l2 is provided with an opening 3() through which light rays may pass trom the chamber 8. rThe bracket 1:2 may be secured in operative position in any desired manner and to any desired part ot the sign structure. it is prererably secured so that it may be conveniently dissociated trom the box ll and troni the movable front wall Q. rthese aurposes are served, for example7 and as shown, by securing' the bracket l2 to the iframe fl by means ot screws l5 which engage upper andlower extension strips 16 projecting` from the upper and lower walls ot the bracket- By such arrangement when the :trent wall 2 is swung' open it carries with it the bracket l2, thereby giving complete and open access to the chamber 8. lf it be desired to remove the bracket l-Z all that is necessary is the removal ot' the screws l5 and thereupon complete access may be had to the chamber 7. The wall 2 may be held closed in any suitable manner. tor example by a screw l? fitted in the bottom ot the box l and engaging a linger 18 proiectingv from the lower extension strip 1G. By withdrawin@v the screw 17 the wall 2 is released and may be swung' open as will be obvious.

rlhe vertically eXtreme wall of the chamber 7 of greatest area7 that is to say the lower wall in the embodiment disclosed, is provided with a longitudinal slot l!) co-exten sive with the lettered portion ot the sign Such letters are filo board or is otherwise of suitable open formation whereby light from the chamber 8 may pass into the chamber 7 to illuminate the visible face of the `sign board. The best results are secured by the arrangement shown according to which the lamps 9 are located behind the wall in which the slot 19 is provided, and a reflector 20 is located behind the lamps, such reflector preferably consisting of one or more plates of translucent milk white glass of the same character as that used for the letters 1() and being secured against the bottom or top of the box 1, as the case may be, by suit-a le clips 21. The direct rays of light admitted by the slot 19 impinge upon the visible face of the sign board, and also upon the glass panel 3 which acts as a reflector and thereby the visible face of the signboard is illuminated, both directly and reflectively `wit-h resultant material advantage in the substantial uniformity of the illumination of the sign board. This is for the reason that although the illuminating edect of the rays directly impinging upon the sign board diminishes toward the ends or portions of the letters remote from the slot 19, such diminution is compensated by the rays which are reflected toward said remote ends or portions by the glass panel 3. Having reference to the e-mbodiment shown and in order to prevent the portions of the letters nearest the slot 19 from being too brilliant-ly illuminated as compared with the remaining portions of the letters, in other words in order to prevent the substantial uniformity of the illumination from being impaired, allongitudinal strip 22 for-ming an opaque barrier is so arranged between the chamber` 8 and the sign board as to intercept therays of light which would otherwise directly strike upon the ends of the letters nearest the slot 19. This strip 22 is conveniently provided as a part of the `wall inwhich the slot 19 is formed and is located between said slot and the sign board. i

The reflecting quality of the panel `3 is best utilized for the purpose in viewiby aranging the wall in which the slot 19 is formed at a suitable forward inclination. ils-thus arranged said wall is preferably provided with a flange Q3 along the forward edge of the slot 19 and which projects into the chamber 7. The flange 23 is approximately equal in vertical extent to the distance in the vertical direction `between the front and rear edges of the .slot 19 and its silice is two-fold, namely to insure the complete concealment `of the lamps in` those cases wherethe sign .may be arranged approximately at the level of the eyes and to locate the angles of reflection of thelight rays directly striking on the panel 3 favorably to the uniformity of the .illumination Lof the sign board Where, as shown and preferred, the sign board includes translucent letters 10 the lamps 9 are `arranged above or below the letters (according to the elevation at which the sign may be supported) so as to avoid any possibility of glare spots while at the same time to emit most of the light rays into the chamber 8. The effective illumination o-f the faces of the letters exposed in the chamber 8 is aided by utilizing the rear wallof the sign box as a reector, said wall having a reflecting finish or otherwise being made reflective and by providing a suitable reflector 2l along the wall opposite to that which carries the reflector 20. The chamber 8 is preferably continuous and the lamps 9 are arranged therein at substantially regular intervals whereby the light from each lamp illuminates all of the letters. Except for the letters 11 the plate 19 is rendered opaque and of a color which suitably contrasts with the color of said letters. l? or this purpose an opaque, preferably black, coating Q5 is applied to the face of the plate 10 which is exposed in the chamber 7. All other parts exposed to view in the chamber 7 are preferably given a similar finish whereby the illuminated white letters stand out against a continuous background of a single contrasting color and the structural securing strips 14, flange 23 and other structural details have no individual definition in appearance but rather appear as continuous parts of a uniform background so that their presence will not be apparent or noticed. The uniformity and continuity of such background is indicated in Figure 1 from which details of the strip 1-11: and flange 23 have been advisedly omitted in order that the actual appearance of the sign may be closely simulated.

The box 1 is formed with suitable openings 26 in the walls of the chamber S for the purposes of ventilation and is preferably provided within said chamber with `a suitable conduit 2 for the feed wires of the lamps 9. These may be of any standard form, their bases being fitted in sleeves or sockets 28 which are carried by suitable supporting brackets 29.

Referring to Figure 5:

The sign shown in this figure is of the double face type and embodies the same essential features of structure and operation as the single face sign described. This double face sign includes side walls Q whichare structurally and functionally similar to the front wall 9 of the single face sign and are accordingly provided with clear glass panels 3, In the double face sign there are two illuminating chambers, that is to say each wall 2 is provided in association with a corresponding illuminating chamber a similar in all respects to the chamber 7 above described A chamber 8,

`arranged opposite the reflectors 20a.

corresponding to the chamber 8 previously kdescribed, and the lamps 9a enclosed therein are common to the two chambers 7a.

Suitable reflectors 2Oa are arranged behind the lamps 9a and other suitable reflectors 2da are The benefits of cross reflection, as explained in said Letters Patent No. 1,224,253, are obtained by the letter lcarrying plates lla, each ofwhich reects light to the other.

lt will be understood that the word letters as used in certain of the following claims is adopted, as a measure of convenience, as a generic term applicable to letters, strictly so called, characters, or other display matter.

Having fully described my invention, l claim:

l. In an illuminated sign, in combination, a sign box having a wall provided with a clear glass panel, a sign board visible through and inclined at an acute angle to said panel, an illuminating chamber of which said board forms the rear wall and said panel the front wall and which is otherwise provided with upper, lower and end walls, the upper and lower walls being of different area owing to the inclination of said board and the wall ot greater area being inclined between said board and said panel and having an opening, an opaque barrier between said opening and said panel and a flange in front of said opening and projecting into said chamber, said flange being of suiiicientdepth to conceal said opening from view, and a source from which light is admitted through said opening into said chamber.

2. In an illuminated sign, in combination, a Sign box having a movably mounted wall provided with a clear glass panel, a sign board visible through said panel, an illuminating chamber of which said board forms the rear wall and said panel the front wall, and a bracket carrying said board and in which the other walls of said chamber are incorporated, said bracket having an opening and being removable with respect to said box and said movably mounted wall, and lamps arranged in the box beyond said chamber and from which light is admitted into said chamber through said opening.

3. In-an illuminated sign, in combination, a sign box having a wall provided with a clear glass panel, a sign board visible through said panel and provided with trans- '.lucentrletters, land lamps in said box arranged to illuminate both the front and rear faces of said sign board.

4. Ylnan illuminated sign, in combination, a sign box-having a wall provided with a clear vglass panel, a sign board visible through said panel `and having translucent quality in certain portions and opaque quality in otherrportions ,and letters incorporated in the port-ions having oneeof said qualities, and lamps in said box arranged to illuminate both the front and rear faces of said board.

5. In an illuminated sign, in combination, a sign box having a wall provided with a clear glass panel, a sign board visible through and inclined relatively to said panel, said board being provided with portions of translucent quality and other portions of opaque quality and with translucent letters incorporated in the portions having one of said qualities, and lamps in said box arranged to illuminate both the front and t-he rear faces of said board, the panel serving as a re iiector and the board having its front face illuminated by the combinationof the direct rays from said lamps and the rays reflected by said panel.

6. In an illuminatedsign, in combination, a sign box having a -wall provided with 'a clear glass panel, a sign board visible through said panel and provided with portions iof translucent quality and other portions of opaque quality and with translucent letters incorporated in the portions having one ot said qualities, an illuminating chamber of which said panel forms a wall and which is provided with an opening for light, said box having a second chamber in which said illuminating chamber is enclosed, and lamps in said second chamber to supply light to the same and also to supply light through said opening to said illuminating chamber, said board being illuminated by the light from both chambers.

7. In an illuminated sign, in combination, a Sign box having a wall provided -with a clear glass panel, which' serves as a reiector, a sign board visible through andA inclined relatively to said panel and provided with portions of translucent quality and other portions of opaque quality and with translucent letters incorporated in the portions having one of said qualities, an illuminating chamber of which said panel forms a wall and which is provided with an opening for light, sai-d box having a secondchamber in which said illuminating chamber is enclosed, and lamps in said second chamber to supply light to the same and also to supply light through said opening to said illuminating chamber, saidboard being illuminated by the light from both chambers and, in the illuminating chamber, being illuminated by the direct light and by the light refiected by said panel.

8. lnan illuminated Sign, in combination, a sign box having opposed walls.` each provided with a clear glass panel, an illuminating chamber associatedwith each paneland having an openinega sign board for each illuminating chamber and forming a wall thereof, each sign board being visible through the corresponding panel yand provided with portions of translucent quality and other portions of opaque quality and with translucent letters incorporated in the portions having one of said qualities, the box having a chamber between said illuminating chambers, said letters having their :faces exposed in the illuminating chambers and in the intermediate chamber and lamps ROY R. VILEY. 

